Orienting device



Feb. 8, 1944. c. w. Br-:UKELMAN RIENTING DEVICE 2 'Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledAug. 2, 1940 n mi mmm-M Feb. 8, 1944. c. w. BRr-:UKELMAN ORIENTINGDEvxcE Filed Aug. 2, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gmc/whom www UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE ORIENTIN G DEVICE Christian W. Breukelman, Forest Reserve,Fyzahad, Trinidad, British West Indies Application August 2, 1940,Serial No. 349,457

(Cl. Z55-1.6)

9 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in orientingdevices.

It is a known fact, that well bores seldom follow an absolutely verticalpath. The great depth of some wells, and the flexibility of the drillstem employed, cause the well bore to deviate from the absolute verticalin various directions and degrees. Sometimes the well bore deviates sofar from a vertical course that it is necessary to start.

a new bore or hole vertically downward from a point above the deviatingportion in an effort to straighten out the Well bore. At times such asthese, and in various other instances, it is desirable to have anorienting device which will indicate to the operator the radial positionof a certain tool within the well bore, so that the tubing stringsupporting the tool may be rotated to bring the tool into a properradial position. For instance, in setting a whipstock in a well bore, itis necessary that the face of the whipstock be directed so that the wellbore will be deflected in the proper direction. An orienting device willaccomplish such a result,

One object, therefore, of this invention is to provide an improvedorienting device wherein means are provided for indicating the radialposition of a tool within a well bore.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved orientingdevice wherein means are provided for indicating the azimuth of a wellbore.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved orientingdevice which may be connected into a string of tubing or a similarconductor, so that a suitable tool may be placed above or below thedevice in the tubing string.

An important object of the invention is to provideV an improvedorienting device which may be connected in a tubing string or a similarconductor without materially obstructing the flow passages of saidtubing string whereby drilling fluid and other iluids may be pumped orowed upwardly and downwardly through said tubing and various otheroperations carried out, such as the running of surveying instruments.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafterdescribed, together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of thefollowing specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings,in which an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an orienting deviceconstructed in accordance with the invention, showing the device loweredinto a well casing upon a tubing string,

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing the contact memberlowered into position within the orienting device,

Figure 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional View taken on the line 3-3 ofFigure 1,

Figure 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional View taken on the line 4-4 ofFigure 1,

Figure 5 is a horizontal cross-sectional View taken on the line 5--5 ofFigure 2,

Figure 6 is an enlarged View of a portion of the orienting deviceshowing a portion of the contactor ring and the contactor ball,

Figure 7 is an enlarged view of the upper end of the contact member, and

Figure 8 is an electrical circuit diagram.

In the drawings, the numeral IIJ designates a. section of tubing or asimilar conductor which is lowered into a well bore or casing I I. Anelongate tubular member I2, having substantially the same outsidediameter as the tubing section I0, is suspended from the lower end ofthe tubing section, and an externally screw-threaded pin I3 formed onits lower end. The pin I3 engages in an internally screw-threaded box I4formed on the upper end of a tubing section I5, whereby the latter issupported by the member I2. The member I2 is provided at its upper endwith an internally screw-threaded box I6 adapted to engage an externallyscrew-threaded pin I1 formed on the lower end of the tubing section I0.In this manner, the member I2 is connected directly into a tubing stringwithin a well bore.

The member I2 is provided with an internal annular beveled shoulder I8below the box I6, and an axial bore I9 extends downwardly from saidshoulder. The bore I9 is reduced near the lower end of the member toform an annular shoulder 20. The reduced portion 2I of the bore I9extends from the shoulder 20 to the lower end of the pin I3.

An annular collar l22 is disposed in the lower portion of the bore I9 soas to rest upon the shoulder 20. The collar 22 is formed of bre or somesuitable insulating material, and is provided at its lower end with anannular inwardly directed flange 23. The inside diameter of the ange 23is substantially equal to the inside diameter of the bore 2| so that theformer constitutes a continuation of the latter. A plurality of suitablecircular packing rings 24 rests upon the upper end of the collar 22 soas to engage the inner wall of the bore IS. It has been found desirableto use the chevron type Packing rings,

as is shown in the drawings, Figures 1 and 2, placed so as to have theirvertices directly upwardly. A collar 25, circular in cross-section andformed of some suitable insulating material, is disposed in the bore I9above and abutting the packing ring 24.

An elongate sleeve 26 is disposed within the bore I9, and has an axialbore 21 substantially equal in diameter to the diameter of the bore 2|.'I'he outer diameter of the sleeve is of such magnitude as to allow thesleeve to telescope the collar 25, the packing ring 24 and the upperportion of the collar y22, while maintaining a snug iit therewith.

An annular external ange 28 is provided on the sleeve 26 near themid-portion thereof, and is formed with its upper face 28 beveleddownwardly. A similar flange 36 is positioned above the ilange 28 andhas its lower face 3I beveled upwardly. In this manner, an externalannular groove 32 is provided at the mid-portion of the sleeve 26. Theange 28 rests upon the upper end of the collar 25, so that the sleeve issupported within the bore I9. As will be noted in the drawings, theflanges 28 and 30 are not of sufficient width as to contact the memberI2. The upper surface or face 29 of the flange 28 is milled out to aslight depth throughout its entire circumference except for a smallerportion 33. A split insulating washer 34 engages in the milled outportion of the flange, and a small ball 35 formed of some conductingmaterial, rests upon the washer 34 within the groove 32.

An insulating collar 36, similar to the collar` 25 encircles the sleeve26 above the ilange 30 and rests thereupon. A plurality of packing ringssimilar to the rings 24 rest upon the collar 36, and encircle the sleeve26. A second collar 38 is disposed above the packing rings 31. Thecollar 38 is similar to the collar `22 and is provided with an annularinwardly-directed ilange 39, similar to the flange 23. An annulardove-tail 40 is formed upon the upper face of the collar 38, and engagesin a dove-tail groove 4I formed in the lower side of an annular bearingring 42 disposed above said collar.

A plurality of bearing balls 43 are disposed between the bearing ring 40and a retainer collar 44, so as to receive the thrust of said collar.The retainer collar 44 carries external screw-threads 45 upon its upperportion, said threads being adapted to engage in internal screw-threads46 formed 'in the upper portion of the bore I9. The collar 44 isprovided with an axial bore 41, and has its upper edge 48 beveled,whereby various tools may be readily inserted in the bore 41. Aplurality of rectangular recesses 45 are formed about the upper inneredge of the collar, and are adapted to be engaged by a suitable tool(not shown) so that the collar may be rotated. As the retainer collar 44is rotated and screwed downwardly in the threads 46, the collars 38 and36 and the packing rings 31 will be forced downwardly toward the flange3l). This latter action compresses the rings 31 to pack off the upperportion of the sleeve 26 and forces the flange 28 to bear downwardlyagainst the collars 22 and 25, the packing rings 24 and the shoulder 20.In this manner, the rings 24 are compressed to pack oil? the lowerportion of the sleeve 26. Av

It will be noted in the drawings (Figures 1 and 2), that the sleeve 26is completely insulated from the member I2 by the insulating collars andthe packing rings. The ball 35 contacting the member I2 and the flange28 provides the only means of contact between the two members. When thedevice is lowered into a well opening which is not perpendicular withrespect to the earths surface, the ball 35 will naturally assume thelowest possible position in the groove 32. The ball therefore remains onthe low side of the well opening regardless of the rotative position ofthe member I2 and the sleeve 26. This fact is utilized in the setting ofa whipstock or some similar tool.

In operating the device a whipstick, or any tool (not shown) which mustbe oriented in the well bore, is placed on the tubing string below themember I2. The sleeve 26 is then rotated within the member I2 until theportion 33 of the ilange 28 bears the proper radial displacement withrespect to the tool, and the retainer collar 44 is tightened to hold thesleeve in place. Any suitable mark can be made at the upper end of "thesleeve in longitudinal alinement with the contact portion 33, wherebythe operator by sighting through the bore of the sleeve can easily alinesuch mark with the face of the whipstock. It is quite common in this artto use such alining marks. It will be observed that the whipstock isusually rigidly fastened to the lower end of the member I2 and thus, thesleeve 26 can be turned so as to vertically aline the contact portion 33of said sleeve with the face of the whipstock before the collar 44 istightened. When lthe tubing assembly is lowered into the well thecontact portion 33 will lie above and substantially in verticalalinement with the face of the whipstock; however, the operator will notknow in which direction the whipstock is facing. He will usually knowthe direction in which the well is inclining and the degree of deviationfrom the perdendicular, because it is common practice to make apreliminary survey of the well hole to ascertain these facts.

After the assembly has been lowered into the well, a suitableelectricalcontact device A is'lowered in the tubing by means of anelectric cable 5I. This device may be of any suitable construction solong as it is capable of closing an electric circuit through either thetubing I0 or the sleeve 26, when in sliding engagement with either. Inorder to make a complete circuit, the cable 5I is connected by a circuitWire 10 with the tubing I0, as is clearly shown in Figure 8. A battery1I or other source of electrical current is connected in the wire, whichwire also has an ammeter or other electrical indicator 12 connectedtherein.

As the device A is moved down the tubing the ammeter will register anelectrical potential thereacross until the device A enters and contactsthe sleeve 26. Unless the ball 35 is resting on the contact portion 33,which it will seldom if ever do, the circuit through the ammeter will bebroken, thus informing the oprawthat'the device A has entered the sleeve26.

The operator now slowly turns the tubing I0, a portion of a completerotation. The ball 35 resting upon the insulating track 34 seeks the lowside of the hole. When the tubing has been turned far enough to bringthe contact portion 33 under the ball 35, the circuit will be closedthrough the member I2 which is connected with the tubing I0. When thecircuit is closed, it will be indicated on the ammeter. This will showthe operator that the face of the whipstock is opposite the low side ofthe well hole. Following the usual practice, the tubing may then beturned the required number of degrees to face the whipstock in thedirection in which it is desired to drill. In this manner, the devicemay be utilized to properly orient a tool within a well bore. It will benoted that the bore of the tubing is only slightly obstructed by thesleeve 26, so that various operations requiring circulation through thetubing may be carried out, and in addition, surveying instruments may berun down through the sleeve.

Any suitable type of contact member may be used. However, a specifictype is shown in the drawings and will herewith be described. The memberA is adapted to be lowered into the bore of the tubing string by aninsulated cable I, which is also utilized to carry an electric currentto the member. The cable is provided with the usual conductor wire orwires 52 covered by insulating material 53. If desired, the cable may beencased in a ilexible protective covering 54.

The lower end of the cable enters into a head 55 formed of suitableinsulating material. The protective covering 54 carries an externalannular ilange or lip 56 at its lower end, which lip ts into aninternally screw-threaded axial recess 51 formed to the upper end of thehead 55. A retainer nut 58 encircles the cable above the lip and engagesin the recess 51 as to secure the cable to the head. The wire 52 extendsdownwardly and engages the upper end of an elongate rod 59 mounted inthe head 55. The rod 59 extends some distance below the head 55 and hasa shoe 60 formed of a non-conductive material disposed on its lower end.A pair of anchor members 6I are slidably mounted on the rod 59, and arespaced apart and connected to one another by a plurality of arcuateoutwardly bowed spring members 62. A pair of coil springs 63 encirclethe rod and are compressed, one between the head 55 and the upper anchormember 6I, and the other between the shoe 60 and the lower anchor member6l. Thus the coil springs 63 tend constantly to urge the anchor memberstogether, thereby forcing the spring members 62 to assume theiroutermost position. As the contact member is lowered into the tubingstring, the springs 63 serve to hold the members 62 against the innerwall of said tubing.

As may be seen, an electric current may flow from the wire 52 to the rod59, and thence through the anchor members 6I to the spring members 62.From the spring members the current may flow to the tubing I0 or to thesleeve 26 and member I2.

The device is simple and positive in its operation, yet allows manyadditional operations to be performed. The sleeve 26 is positivelypacked olf by the packing rings 24 and 31 so that liquid may not enterbetween the sleeve and the member l2 so as to cause a short circuit ordeposit foreign matter to impede the action of the ball 35.

Various changes, alterations and modifications may be made in the size,shape and arrangement of the herein described elements, within the scopeof the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A device for use in an electrical well orienting assembly including,an outer tubular member adapted to be connected in a well tubing stringand capable of conducting electrical current, a sleeve rotatably mountedin the bore of the tubular member and electrically insulated therefrom,means for fastening the sleeve in a predetermined position, anelectrically insulated track carried by the sleeve in circumferentialrelation to the bore of the tubular member, said track having anelectrical contact point exposed therein and electrically connected withthe sleeve, and a gravity-controlled electrical contact ball mounted onsaid track in rolling contact with the bore of the tubular member.

2. A device of the character described including, a tubular memberadapted to be connected in a tubing string, a sleeve rotatably mountedin the member, a circular track on the exterior of said sleeve having anelectrical contact point, a ball confined on the track and adapted toengage said contact point and the tubing member when the member isrotated, and means for fastening the sleeve and* the contact point ofthe track in a known relation to a well tool when such tool is connectedwith the tubular member.

3. A well orienting apparatus including, a tubular member adapted to beconnected in a tubing string and to a tool to be oriented, a sleeverotatably mounted in the member and having a passage therethrough for awell tool, the sleeve being electrically insulated from the member,means for turning the sleeve to adjust it to a known position withrelation to the tool to be oriented, means for fastening the sleeve inthe member in its adjusted position, and means for closing an electriccircuit between the sleeve and the member when the member and sleeve arerotated to a known position in the well.

4. A well orienting apparatus as set forth in claim 3 wherein thecircuit closing means includes a gravity-controlled movable element forcfosing the circuit when the tubular member is rotated to a knownposition in the well.

5. A well orienting apparatus including, a tubular member adapted to beconnected in a tubing string and to a tool to be oriented, a sleeverotatably mounted in the member and having a passage therethrough for awell tool, the sleeve being electrically insulated from the member,means for turning the sleeve to adjust it to a known position withrelation to the tool to be oriented,means for fastening the sleeve inthe member in its adjusted position, a source of electrical currentsupply electrically connected with the tubular member, and means havingelectrical connection with said source and adapted to be lowered intothe sleeve when the member is in position in the well to close thecircuit through the sleeve when the circuit closing means closes thecircuit between the sleeve and the member.

6. A well orienting device including, a tubular member adapted to beconnected in a tubing string and a tool to be oriented, a rotatablyadjustable sleeve mounted in the member and electrically insulatedtherefrom, a circular electrically insulated track in the exterior ofsaid sleeve having a single exposed electrical contact connected withsaid sleeve, an electrical contact ball freely movable around said trackin engagement with the bore of the tubular member adapted to close anelectrical circuit from said sleeve to the member when the member isrotated to bring the contact point into engagement with the ball, andcircuit means for supplying an electric current having circuitconnection with said member and sleeve, the circuit being closed onlywhen the ball engages the contact.

7. A well apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein the circuit meansincludes a contact element movable into the sleeve to make electricalcontact with the sleeve.

8. A well orienting device including, a tubular member adapted to beconnected in a well string and to a tool to be oriented, said memberhaving a passage therethrough, a sleeve mounted for rotative adjustmentin the member, means for electrically insulating the sleeve from themember, means for fastening the sleeve in the member, an insulated trackin the outer surface ol the sleeve having an exposed contact point, anda ball confined on the track by the member and adapted to engage withthe contact point of the track when the member is rotated.

9. In combination in a well orienting apparatus, a well tubing stringcarrying a tool to be oriented, a tubular member connected in the tubingstring, a rotatably adjustable sleeve disposed in the member andelectrically insulated therefrom, gravity-controlled circuit closingmeans between the sleeve and the member, a source of electric currentsupply connected with the tubing and the member, an electrical contactmember adapted to be lowered into the tubing and sleeve connected withthe source of electric current supply, and an electrical indicator inthe connection betweenwtl' 'source' of current supply and the device forindicating the passage of said device from the tubing into the sleeveand for indicating the operation of the circuit closing means when thetubing is rotated.

CHRISTIAN W. BREUKELMAN.

